English Essay

Opposition and closing paragraph

1. Drug courts are not effective at reducing recidivism due to the difficulty of rules and the amount of time it takes for completion. “The disadvantage is it can take a lot of time for that to be completed and the rules for successful completion are difficult” (Gantner.,2013). Completing a successful drug court requires full participation from the offender and the willingness to complete the required courses. Drug addiction must be resolved with counseling and treatment, which can be costly and has no guarantees that the participant will be able to refrain from using said drugs. Drug offenders, once incarcerated, are forced to go without illegal drugs. “What’s absolutely critical is to understand that drug courts, though they often connect people with treatment services, are not a public health approach to drug use” (Dooley-Sammuli, 2011). Many feel that drug courts are not the responsibility of citizens to waste tax dollars on funding drug offenders.

2. Successful completion of drug court programs reduce criminal activities, bring offenders back to work successfully, and reduce costs associated with incarceration. “For those who might consider incarceration a better option for drug-involved offenders, research yields no empirical relationship between incarceration and sobriety; most drug-involved offenders return to drugs and crime after release from jail or prison” (Dekalb Superior Court,2014). Working together as a cohesive unit between court officials, law enforcement, and community outreach programs drug courts can be successful in the rehabilitation of non-violent drug offenders. Drug courts that are ran effectively, can curb drug use and distribution with insight and prevention.

References

Dooley-Sammuli, M. (2011, March 29). Drug Courts Are Not the Answer. Retrieved from https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/drug-courts-are-not-answer

Law. (2013, June 04). Drug court. What is it? How does it work? Retrieved from http://galanterlaw.com/2012/07/drug-court-what-is-it-how-does-it-work/

Superior Court, D. (2014). Results. Retrieved from https://www.dekalbsuperiorcourt.com/drug-court/success/